Wow.... J-35 all that and a bag o' chips

Played my first J-35 today at GC and man was I impressed. I honestly thought it played and sounded better than most of the other Gibsons they had. ( I stop by every few days and have played all the SJs, AJs and Birds regularly) The only one I thought close was a black 'bird.

This J-35 played absolutely wonderful and the tone was really smooth. I still am not crazy about the looks but its growing on me.

For 1500 it should sound good but I gotta admit it was way better than I was expecting

It used to be that whenever I looked at Gibsons in my mind's eye I always saw a sunburst guitar. But when I finally decided I wanted a short scale slope shoulder guitar I decided on a price I would pay and I decided I would get nothing but a Gibson. It's almost like my J-50 came to me at that point. At first I had kinda wished I had waited and gone for a J-45 but as time has gone by I've really come to love how my J-50 is turning to a clover honey color on its way to that pumpkin color of old spruce. It's not the best sounding guitar I own but it is the one I love and love to play the most. It doesn't hurt that Lightn' played one and so does Gillian Welch, two musicians I admire a lot. So, take a look at the 1939 J-35 that Elderly is offering right now and you can get an idea how a new J-35 will look after a couple of years. For me, the slope shoulder jumbo style looks good as a blonde or a brunette.

It used to be that whenever I looked at Gibsons in my mind's eye I always saw a sunburst guitar. But when I finally decided I wanted a short scale slope shoulder guitar I decided on a price I would pay and I decided I would get nothing but a Gibson. It's almost like my J-50 came to me at that point. At first I had kinda wished I had waited and gone for a J-45 but as time has gone by I've really come to love how my J-50 is turning to a clover honey color on its way to that pumpkin color of old spruce. It's not the best sounding guitar I own but it is the one I love and love to play the most. It doesn't hurt that Lightn' played one and so does Gillian Welch, two musicians I admire a lot. So, take a look at the 1939 J-35 that Elderly is offering right now and you can get an idea how a new J-35 will look after a couple of years. For me, the slope shoulder jumbo style looks good as a blonde or a brunette.

The only thing about the J-35 I wasn't keen on was the pick guard. Having owned mine for a month now I have to say its really grown on me. It's such a great sounding guitar that really the looks become secondary once you start playing it.

It used to be that whenever I looked at Gibsons in my mind's eye I always saw a sunburst guitar. But when I finally decided I wanted a short scale slope shoulder guitar I decided on a price I would pay and I decided I would get nothing but a Gibson. It's almost like my J-50 came to me at that point. At first I had kinda wished I had waited and gone for a J-45 but as time has gone by I've really come to love how my J-50 is turning to a clover honey color on its way to that pumpkin color of old spruce.

Lawdy does this sound familiar. For a whole lotta years I felt the Gibson burst was as much their trademark as the logo. Leave the natural top guitars to Martin, Guild and others. When I first stumbled across my Banner J-50 I was expecting a '43 J-45. My heart sank when I opened the case and there was a natural top guitar staring me in the face. Damn I thought - a J-45 but a refinished one. I gingerly picked it up as the back was about split open and launched into a bit of Willie McTell's "Broke Down Engine." What I heard made me catch my breath. Even with the back wide open this thing had the biggest dry low end I had ever heard and rang out till Kingdom Come. With JTs help over at the UMGF I was able to figure out it was not a refinished J-45 but a J-50. Never again will I look at natural top Gibsons as lesser guitars.

Somebody else suggested that the smaller bridge allowed the top to vibrate more contributing to a more resonant sounding guitar. Not sure if its true though probably something someone with more expertise would know about.